Utah leaders gathered to celebrate the opening of the Grand Hyatt and expanded ski terrain at Deer Valley’s East Village on Thursday. The hotel is the first from the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) to offer a dedicated program for military service members in Wasatch County.“After over two decades of tireless work and tremendous leadership and support by MIDA, generations of Hill Air Force Leaders, Extell, Wasatch County and the state, this world-class venue is now a reality,” Col. Dan Cornelius said. Of the hotel’s nearly 400 rooms, 100 are set aside with reduced rates for military personnel and eligible veterans. MIDA calls the program Salute to Service.Cornelius said the entire project dates back to 2002, when the Hill Air Force Base’s Morale Welfare and Recreation Program ran its own ski lodge — a small military cabin — at Snowbasin Resort. Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, who also chairs MIDA, right, reacts to a demonstration of the Robodog, which is an unmanned ground vehicle. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordUtah Senate President Stuart Adams, left, was in attendance at the festivities on Thursday. Adams chairs the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). Credit: Clayton Steward/Park Record“To balance the needs of the Olympics while also caring for airmen, Congress granted the Air Force replacement lands, but with no funds at the time, to help build a new Air Force ski resort,” Cornelius said. In 2018, MIDA partnered with Extell Development, the state, the Air Force and Wasatch County to create the Morale Welfare Recreation hotel in Deer Valley’s East Village. The Grand Hyatt officially opened on Nov. 20, 2024. A separate ribbon-cutting on Thursday marked the opening of Deer Valley’s expanded terrain, and two additional ski lifts started running the week prior.The Aurora lift takes skiers to beginner-level terrain and the Keetley Express — a six-person bubble lift — drops skiers on Bald Mountain by the Sultan Express. The upcoming Hoodoo Express will open later this season. Once Deer Valley’s expansion areas are complete, there will be more than 5,700 acres of skiable terrain available at the resort. At the Grand Hyatt’s opening Thursday, Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson said that recreation is a vital part of “military readiness.”Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson gives remarks since Gov. Spencer Cox was out of the state during the ceremonies. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park Record“This idea that part of readiness, military readiness, is recreation, is a sense of peace and solace and healing” Henderson said. “And this place will provide that for so many military families, and that is incredibly important to the state of Utah.”Henderson said that as a state, “we’re always trying to work on how we can do better.”“I know the burden of service that is placed on families in the military,” Henderson said. “We’re the Beehive state. … It represents many, many individuals working together to build something greater than the sum of the individual parts, building something better and bigger than what those individuals could do another. That’s why I’m so proud of what this building represents.”Attendees were able to watch a flyover of Utah Army National Guard helicopters on Thursday. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordWhile MIDA boasts the promise of positive economic growth for the county and state, Extell Development founder Gary Barnett said that “we’re expecting to build many more hotels” at the East Village. That includes a Four Seasons ski-in, ski-out resort featuring 134 rooms and suites, plus restaurants, an event space, and 123 private residences. Plans to build the hotel chain’s first location in Utah were announced in December 2024, but a construction timeline has not been identified. Of the 100 rooms set aside for military personnel with reduced rates at the Grand Hyatt, just over 100 reservations have been made so far this season. Executive Director of Utah Department of Veterans & Military Affairs and MIDA Board of Directors member, Gary Harter, welcomed the crowd into the balloroom at the Grand Hyatt on Thursday. Harter called himself “a proud resident of Wasatch County,” during his welcome. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordThe post Grand Hyatt opening solidifies MIDA presence in Wasatch County appeared first on Park Record.